November 2-7 (Week Three)

Monday, November 2

Nuggeting Sources: Find a source you think would be helpful to you in your inquiry project and write a nugget post for it. (Remember that a nugget is a passage from the reading that grabs you in some way and that you then make as meaningful as possible. It could be a passage that puzzles you, or intrigues you, or resonates strongly with you. It could be a passage you agree with, or one you disagree with. The idea here is that the passage evokes some kind of response in you, one that makes you want to work with the passage to make it just as meaningful as possible.) Make sure you explain precisely how you think the argument from the source you selected applies to your project as you currently see it. Make sure to link out to the source.

Tag this post with five keywords that describe how you imagine your source will work in your Inquiry Project. (To do this, think about how the sources work together to build the conversation with your Connecting Nuggets post.)

Tuesday, November 3Comment on five of your peers’ Nuggeting Sources posts. Try to look for similar projects–these authors may become research friends. Focus your comments on how your peers are conceptualizing their sources (the tags used to categorize the source, what they write about the source, etc.) Ask questions. Get curious!

Wednesday, November 3 – Friday November 5

Investigators Assemble!: This experience is designed to help you understand how your sources will work together as a framework for your inquiry project. It also has multiple parts, so make sure to not sleep on this. Don’t wait until the last minute to complete everything!

Part 1: The Gathering

Take stock of the sources you have found on your own: the ones you have nuggeted and the ones you have waiting in the wings for use. Think of these as your party of fellow investigators, equipped and ready to help you in your investigation. Select at least four.

Once you have the party together, look at all of the tags you have created to categorize your sources and decide how they can be standardized. In other words, aim for five tags that are strong summations of major points in all of your outside sources. They can now take the form of fuller thoughts/phrases rather than just a one word description. Think of these as the major categories all of your sources address and that you may include in your inquiry project: the topics of conversation your savvy party of investigators is so, so ready to discuss.

Part 2: The Planning

Get the conversation going. Take your fellow “investigators” and arrange them around the categories from Part 1, then explain how they help you in your investigation. (Your Connecting Nuggets post should help with this.) What does each bring to the table to address the project you established? How do they do this? Don’t just chronologically describe what each sources contains; provide a strong summation of the core assertions the investigators make to make the discussion as robust as possible. Let them talk and respond to each other, just like any real conversation.

Part 3: The Advising

Think long and hard about the state of the conversation from Part 2. Look back to the three dreamers you wish to include in your inquiry project (your Mapping the Dreamers post should help with this) and bring them into the fold to address all of the categories you see fit. Provide any insight you think the three dreamers may have given the discussion between investigators.

Part 4: The Missioning

Now that your part is complete, explain the state of your investigation and your thoughts on what you will ultimately claim and support in your inquiry project.

Design this post (or any part of it) however you see fit: be creative, detailed, and thoughtful. Tag this post synthesis.

Sunday, November 7

Look to at least four of your peers’ Investigators Assemble! posts and reflect on the state of your project in light of them. Key questions: What seems to be working well as others conceptualize their projects? How do you see you project forming alongside your peers’? Link out to at least four of your peers’ posts (at least two outside of your class section) and explain how your work so far compares or connects with theirs.